Welcome to first and 10, a roundup of all the (mostly) Patriots-related news you need to start your Wednesday. Grab your coffee and let’s get to it.
--Busy day approaching. We'll get players during their media availability, but Wednesday will also mark the first full practice day in Georgia for both teams. We all know what a bad week of practice in the days before the Super Bowl means, so we'll be asking the right questions and poring over the pool report.
--Patriots remain a 2.5-point favorite -- the line really hasn't budged over the last several days.
Wednesday’s Schedule
9:45 a.m.: Sean McVay media availability
10 a.m.: Jared Goff media availability
10:15 a.m.-11 a.m.: Rams players availability
4 p.m.: Bill Belichick media availability
4:15 p.m.: Devin McCourty media availability
4:30 p.m.-5.15 p.m.: Patriots’ players availability
Now, on with the links...
1. I spent some quality time with Aaron Donald on Tuesday morning, and I asked the Rams defensive tackle about Tom Brady’s quick release. Has he ever seen someone get rid of a football that quickly? “Yeah — a quarterback who doesn’t want to get hit,” Donald replied with a small smile. OK then. I maintain the Rams' defensive line against the Patriots' offensive line is going to be the matchup that decides the game.
2. Talked with a handful of the Patriots about Josh Gordon, and how -- in the words of Chris Hogan -- it "sucks" he's not with the team. It's clear they still have feelings for Gordon. “Hopefully, the success we will continue to have on the field will continue to motivate him to continue to get better,” said Jason McCourty. “He’s a guy we want to see do well and a guy who has obviously had his own struggles — as we all do. Praying for JG and hoping that everything works out.”
3. Greg spent some quality time on radio row with the fellas from Felger & Mazz.
4. I talked about the Patriots and the Super Bowl with Ian Furness of Sportsradio 950 KJR in Seattle.
5. Mike Reiss writes on Devin McCourty pondering retirement if the Patriots win. "I do look at it -- if we can win this game, winning with my brother (Jason), I don't know what else I could do that could top that," he said. (That McCourty media availability on Wednesday will be interesting.)
6. The Brady-Julian Edelman Bromance continues unabated. "We have a great relationship, Jules and I, and I trust him so much," Brady said Tuesday. "He's always been kind of like my little brother, in a good way. I don't have a little brother, but he's kind of like a little brother and he knows how much I love him."
7. Rams running back Todd Gurley II -- who insists his knee is OK -- says he and Sony Michel remain tight because of their Georgia ties. They're just not talking this week. "Hopefully everything I taught him, he doesn't do it and he just plays like he used to play before I taught him everything," Gurley said with a laugh when talking about his fellow Bulldog.
8. "Madden 19" simulated Super Bowl LIII, and the Rams beat the Patriots, 30-27.
9. Mike DiGiovanna of the Los Angeles Times writes on the Rams using the 2015 AFC title game as a template for beating Brady and the Patriots. “I feel like that’s a blueprint, especially from my position, on how to get to Brady, how to affect him and help the secondary in the back end,” said LA's Dante Fowler. “I studied that game last year — what (the Broncos) did, what Von Miller did — and I like how Von just took over the game. He was electric from the first snap to the end.”
10. This is a fascinating look at the roster turnover that goes on with NFL champs. Title teams shed an average of 20.4 players off their 53-man rosters from the Super Bowl to Week 1 of the next season. That’s 38.5 percent. Something to think about heading into the offseason.
Extra Point: Atlanta cancelled school on Tuesday in advance of what some said was going to be snow. Turns out, it wasn't so bad.
This Atlanta snow storm is fierce pic.twitter.com/3ikLBmXtly
— Dan Wetzel (@DanWetzel) January 29, 2019